His ultimate goals are to marry Princess Peach, defeat Mario, and conquer the Mushroom Kingdom. Since his debut, he has appeared in almost every Mario franchise game, usually serving as the main antagonist. Bowser has been called "the most successful video game character".[4] Currently, Bowser is voiced by Kenny James.

Bowser was the creation of Nintendo designer and producer Shigeru Miyamoto. Miyamoto had first envisioned Bowser as an ox, basing him on the Ox King from the Toei Animation film Alakazam the Great.[5] However, Nintendo designer Takashi Tezuka pointed out that the character looked a lot more like a turtle than an ox. Miyamoto and Tezuka then began to work together to define Bowser's appearance. Since the character was the leader of the turtle-like Koopa Troopas the two began to base his new appearance on them, creating a new illustration. In his final design, Miyamoto commented that he could make Bowser "look cool now".[6]

In the Super Mario Bros. film, Bowser was known as President Koopa also briefly referred to as King Koopa in that adaptation, was portrayed by Dennis Hopper. In the film, he is almost entirely human in appearance, with blonde hair he gels in the shape of a crown, and he frequently wears a black business suit and tie. However, after being briefly exposed to his own Devo machine by the Mario Bros., he started occasionally possessing some reptilian traits. The final climax of the film sees Koopa devolve into an enormous Green Tyrannosaurus Rex to battle the Mario Bros, but is de-evolved into primordial ooze.[11]

Bowser is portrayed as the "King of the Koopas", anthropomorphic turtles that inhabit the world of the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser differs greatly from the rest of the Koopa clan, which consists mainly of bipedal tortoises. His iconic features include a large, spiked turtle shell, horns, razor-sharp fangs, talons on his fingers, three clawed toes, and a shock of red hair. He is physically powerful, nearly indestructible, can breathe fire, and has skills in black magic. He can also jump surprisingly high for his large size, although his speed and agility are most of the time lacking.

Bowser aspires to take over the Mushroom Kingdom and merge it with his own realm. He is infatuated with Princess Peach,[12][13][14] and routinely kidnaps her as part of his plans for domination.[15] Sometimes, he kidnaps Peach simply to lure Mario into a trap, but occasionally he hopes to marry her.

The character's role in the franchise varies. He is typically the main antagonist in the main series, but in the RPG series, he sometimes works with the heroes to defeat a greater evil.[16] The RPGs also portray Bowser in a more humorous light as a blustering, buffoonish bully with a hidden softer side. He also cares for his minions.

Bowser also has a son, Bowser Jr., who helps his father kidnap Peach. Bowser Jr.'s mother is unknown, as Bowser isn't officially confirmed as having a previous marriage yet. Originally in Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser was stated to be the father of the Koopalings, but after the Koopalings made their reappearances in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, in a recent interview Shigeru Miyamoto admitted that they are not Bowser's children in official canon.[17]

Bowser has his own castle in a volcanic world known internationally as Bowser's Castle. In his castle, Bowser can summon his minions in order to take over the kingdom and capture Peach. In addition, the battles against Mario and his friends take place here. In the spin-offs, the castle can also serve as a go-kart course, a tennis court, a baseball stadium and many more.

Up until the release of Super Mario Sunshine, Bowser's voice consisted of mostly roars, snarls, and laughs provided mainly by stock sound effects. Then, in Super Mario Sunshine, radio personality and voice actor Scott Burns gave Bowser his first spoken dialogue and continued portraying him for several more years. In Super Mario Galaxy, Kenneth W. James formally succeeded Burns. Between Burns and James, however, Bowser was briefly voiced by Eric Newsome in Super Paper Mario.

Bowser's first appearance was in Super Mario Bros. as the main antagonist who kidnaps Princess Peach and as the final boss with several false versions of him appearing as lesser bosses. He reappears in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, in which he uses the same battle tactics as in the previous game. He appears in Super Mario Bros. 3, and along with the Koopalings,[18] he transforms the kings of seven worlds into various different creatures and eventually capturing Princess Peach yet again. Bowser and his seven underlings reappear in Super Mario World, where they conquer Dinosaur Land and kidnap Peach while she and Mario are on vacation on Yoshi's Island. He makes his first 3D appearance in Super Mario 64, where he takes over Peach's castle and steals 120 Power Stars[19] (150 in Super Mario 64 DS), scattering them through various worlds linked using the castle. He returns in Super Mario Sunshine, in which his youngest, but favorite son, Bowser Jr., who is disguised as an evil version of Mario, kidnaps Peach. Bowser himself eventually appears in the final boss battle of the game. In New Super Mario Bros., Bowser is the boss of the first world, which features a battle similar to that of Super Mario Bros. After being defeated, he falls into lava and is reduced to a skeleton called Dry Bowser. He is eventually restored by Bowser Jr. and acts as the final world's boss along with his son. In Super Mario Galaxy, Bowser steals the Power Stars from Rosalina's Comet Observatory and kidnaps Peach, taking her to the center of the universe to recreate it, with the intention of taking over the universe. He also appears in New Super Mario Bros. Wii as the final boss and primary antagonist of the game. After being defeated at the end, he grows to a much greater size, chasing Mario through the castle by breathing fireballs before Mario defeats him again. Bowser appears in the sequel Super Mario Galaxy 2, once again as the main antagonist. Here, however, Bowser has grown to giant size, requiring the player to dodge more powerful attacks such as meteors and bolts of lightning. Bowser also appears in Super Mario 3D Land as the main antagonist once again where he steals Peach and uses the Super Leaf to create tailed minions. Dry Bowser also returns in this game as well. Bowser also appeared in New Super Mario Bros. 2 along with his Koopalings in order to capture Peach once more. Dry Bowser also makes an appearance in this game. Bowser returns as the main antagonist of New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U along with the Koopalings and his son, but this time, they invade Castle Toadstool. Bowser returns once again in Super Mario 3D World as the main antagonist who is fought thrice, including as the final boss in a form known as Meowser, and this time, he will take over the Sprixie Kingdom by kidnapping the seven Sprixies so that he may steal the kingdom's treasures.

Bowser appears as a child in various games. Known as Baby Bowser, he antagonizes the Baby Mario brothers and various members of the Yoshi species. He first appears in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island where Kamek predicts the brothers will become problems in the future, so he attempts to kidnap them. He appears yet again in the sequel Yoshi's Story, stealing the "Super Happy Tree" from a group of Yoshis. He appeared yet again in Yoshi's Island DS as a playable character to recover his castle. Baby Bowser and his older self also appeared in Yoshi's New Island as the final boss.

He also appeared in Paper Mario: Sticker Star as the main antagonist where he invades the Sticker Fest ceremony and serves as the final boss with the sixth and final Royal Sticker.

He plays minor antagonistic and supporting roles in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, where he aids Mario and Luigi in battling the witch Cackletta, losing his memory at one point and being possessed by Cackletta's spirit at another.

Its sequel, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, features both Bowser and Baby Bowser as major antagonists. Baby Bowser races against the Bros. to rebuild an artifact called the Cobalt Star, while the Present Bowser, after failing to kidnap an impostor Peach, is enhanced by the elder Princess Shroob and becomes the final boss called "Shrowser". Both Baby Bowser and Bowser also team up at one point to fight the Bros.

In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Bowser is the main protagonist and a playable character, with Mario and Luigi supporting him from inside his body without his knowledge. Although he is one of the game's three protagonists, he is still fought twice in the game as a boss by the Mario Bros.

In Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, he appeared as the main antagonist and major boss, being fought three times, including as the final boss where he becomes Dreamy Bowser. He forms an alliance with the initial antagonist Antasma, but later betrays Antasma (which he intended to do for a while) and becomes the true main antagonist.

In Super Princess Peach, he uses the power of the Vibe Scepter to capture Mario and Luigi (prompting Princess Peach herself to come to their rescue).

Bowser is a selectable character within Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. In these games is a form not featured in any other game called "Giga Bowser", a darker and more monstrous form with added power elements to his attacks. This form is an unplayable boss character in Melee, and is fought in Adventure Mode and the final Event Match, while in Brawl and 3DS and Wii U, it serves as a temporary playable transformation with the Final Smash. In The Subspace Emissary from Brawl, Bowser is unplayable for most of the story and only becomes playable after King Dedede defeats him in a duel.

In the Wii U version of Bayonetta, as well as its sequel, Bowser makes a cameo in which Bayonetta can summon his fists and feet when wearing the game's unlockable Princess Peach and Daisy costumes.[citation needed]

Bowser's first American appearances were as the antagonist in all three Super Mario Bros. cartoons (produced by DIC Entertainment) voiced by Harvey Atkin. The character is typically referred to as "King Koopa" rather than Bowser. His appearance in the cartoons was also different than his video game appearances. He had green skin and lacked his red hair and ability to breathe fire, although he did wield a magic wand similar to those seen in Super Mario Bros. 3.

In the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie, Bowser was the main antagonist played by the late Dennis Hopper. Here, he is President Koopa but is called "King Koopa," who usurped the throne of the parallel-universe city of Dinohattan (the film's version of the Mushroom Kingdom) from the rightful king (played by Lance Henriksen) who is devolved into fungus for most of the film. Rather than a turtle, Koopa was a humanoid evolved from dinosaurs. Koopa is defeated in the climax when Mario and Luigi devolve him first into a Tyrannosaurus and then into primordial slime. The film version of Bowser/Koopa was met with significant criticism, even being mentioned by the late actor who portrays him, Dennis Hopper, as the worst role he has ever played on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.[20]

Bowser also appeared in the CD-i game Hotel Mario as a final boss in the last hotel in the game.

Bowser appears in the Disney film Wreck-It Ralph. He appears as one of the video game villains that attend the villain support group Bad-Anon. When Wreck-It Ralph mentions his interest into not being a villain anymore, Bowser reacts to this by breathing fire similar to a spit take since he was drinking something at the time. Later near the end of the film, Wreck-It Ralph express his success of being a real hero and gaining some respect from Bowser and the other villains, who applaud him.

Due largely to the success of the Mario franchise, Bowser has become one of the most iconic and easily recognizable video game antagonists of all time. He frequently appears in lists for greatest video game antagonists. IGN placed him at #2 out of 100,[21] and GamePro placed him at #9 out of 47.[22]GameSpot listed him at #9 in their "Top 10 Video Game Villains" article, stating "Of all the villains to make an appearance on this list, Bowser...has got to be the most interesting," later adding "While some people say Bowser's life may have gotten into a rut, the man has simply refined his game down to an everyday thing. He's focused, he's dedicated, and worst of all, he's patient."[23] Bowser ranked in the first slot on GameDaily's top 10 Nintendo characters that deserve their own games list, explaining if Yoshi and Wario get their own games, Bowser should too due to his being one of gaming's most nefarious villains.[24] In GameDaily's top 10 Smash Bros. characters list, he ranked sixth.[25] GameDaily also included him in their most persistent video game villains list.[26] However, Bowser has been also rated as the 4th biggest douchebag in gaming history by ScrewAttack, who said that he wants to "take Mario down".[27] IGN editor Craig Harris described Bowser as being a household name.[28] In 2011, Empire ranked him as the 23rd greatest video game character[29] while Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2013 featured Bowser first in their list of top 50 Villains.[30]

Bowser's role in Super Mario Galaxy has been met with significant praise. Eurogamer editor Margaret Robertson commented that after years of being a "comedy villain", Galaxy put him back at his "scaly, scabrous best"."[31] PALGN editor Chris Sell called him the best boss in Mario Galaxy, stating that it wasn't just because of the battles with him being "superb, screen filling affairs", but also because he is "back to being mean again"."[32] Nintendo World Report editor Aaron Kaluszka commented that battling Bowser has never been "this intense and engaging.""[33]IGN editor Cam Shea praised his physical appearance in Super Mario Galaxy, describing him as "imposing and weighty"."[34] Another IGN editor, Matt Casamassina, praised the visual quality of the characters, citing Bowser in particular and mentioning how his "funky red fur waggles in the wind".[35] Game Positive editor Travis Simmons concurred, commenting that his hair "gives him a touch of personality"."[36]

Bowser's role in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story has been met with highly positive reception. He has frequently been referenced as the main character of the game due to his prominence in it. Eurogamer editor Christian Donlan commented that it felt good to play as Bowser, and that "After years of picking a path carefully around threats, jumping out of harm's way, and tackling challengers mostly from above, it's a pleasure to put those cares aside and relish a few hours of spiky, tortoise-shelled power." "[37]Destructoid editor Jim Sterling described Bowser's gameplay as "brilliant comic relief". He also described the dialogue of the game as being "laugh out loud funny", specifically praising Bowser's ego.[38]RPGamer editor Michael Cunningham praised the game for Bowser "stealing the show", but also decried it for not having quite enough of him."[39] Nintendo World Report editor Pedro Hernandez commented that the plot and humour of the game make iconic characters "more enduring, including Bowser."[40] NGamer Magazine editor Matthew Castle commented that all Mario role-playing games make good use of Bowser, but that this is the first game where Bowser takes the center stage.[41] Game Style editor Drew Middlemas commented that Bowser stole the show, being portrayed as a "creature of pure, blustering ego who reminds us of why he’s one of gaming’s greatest baddies.""[42] N-Europe editor called him the "real star" of the game, calling him a "fantastic character" with "so much more to give than what we’ve seen from him so far, even in the other Mario RPGs." He added that his "foul mood and lack of intelligence" as well as his interactions with other characters are well-written. "[43]

Kombo editor commented that he became a more sympathetic character as the game progresses, adding that his "massive ego pushes him towards heroism"."[44] Wired.com editor Chris Kohler called Bowser awesome, adding that his segments are funnier than Mario and Luigi's."[45]Giant Bomb editor Brad Shoemaker states that Bowser steals the show, commenting that playing as him gives players an inside glimpse of his ego and megalomania."[46] IGN editor Craig Harris described Bowser as the only "core Nintendo character over the past couple decades" to not have a starring role in a video game, and this game acts as his "big break"."[47]1UP.com editor Jeremy Parish stated that Bowser makes the game, describing him as more interesting than Bowser's Inside Story predecessor's partners, the baby forms of Mario and Luigi."[48]GamePro editor Alicia Ashby called Bowser one of the most "lovable characters in the Nintendo universe", and praising Bowser's Inside Story for giving him "much deserved time in the spotlight."[49]GameSpy editor Phil Theobald called him the breakout star of the game, stating that "the gruff, quick-to-anger pro/antagonist is a treat to watch as he continuously becomes infuriated with the incompetence of his minions.""[50]GamesRadar editor Henry Gilbert stated that he is "home to the most drastic change to the formula" in this game, stating that while he is still a "humorously incapable villain", the game allows players to switch between Bowser and the Mario Bros. at their discretion.""[51]ScrewAttack listed Bowser as the number one Top 10 Reptiles/Amphibians in Video Games.[15] IGN names Bowser one of the "oldest villains in gaming history, not to mention one of the most iconic."[52]